Archives

Barnett Shale Rig Report

May 30, 2014

Active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale were down by four to 29 this week, reported RigData. Jack and Wise counties were the busiest with six rigs each, followed by Tarrant with five and Montague with four. A year ago the count stood at 26.

Nationally, Baker Hughes Inc. said there were 1,866 rigs, up nine from a week earlier. There were 1,536 rigs seeking crude oil, up eight, 326 seeking natural gas, up one, and four miscellaneous, unchanged. A year ago there were 1,771.

May 09, 2014

Active rigs in the Barnett Shale rose by four to 28 this week, continuing a rebound from a 12-year low of 18 last month, according to RigData. Wise County was the busiest with seven rigs, followed by Tarrant with five, Montague with four and Jack with three.

Nationally the rig count was up 1 to 1,855, said Baker Hughes Inc. Rigs seeking crude oil were up one to 1,528, rigs seeking natural gas were unchanged at 323 and miscellaneous rigs were also unchanged at four.

May 02, 2014

The number of active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale continued to recover from its recent low of 18 two weeks ago, rising by two to finish the week at 26, according to RigData. For the first time in years, Tarrant County was the busiest with six rigs, followed by Jack and Wise counties with five each and Montague County with four.

Nationally, the rig count fell by seven to 1,854, according to Baker Hughes Inc. There were 1,527 rigs seeking crude oil, down seven, 323 rigs seeking natural gas, unchanged, and four miscellaneous rigs, also unchanged.

April 25, 2014

The number of drilling rigs working in the Barnett Shale rebounded from last week’s 12-year low of 18, adding six rigs to close the week at 24, according to RigData. Montague County was the busiest with six rigs, followed by Tarrant County with five, Wise County with four and Jack County with three.

Nationally, active rigs jumped by 30 from a week ago, said BakerHughes Inc. Rigs seeking crude oil were up 24, to 1,534, rigs seeking gas rose seven, to 323, and miscellaneous rigs were down one to four.

April 18, 2014

Drilling in the Barnett Shale slowed to the lowest level in years, dropping to 18 this week, down from 23 a week earlier, according to RigData. The field's three biggest producers, Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy and XTO Energy, between them were operating just four rigs, and nearly all the activity was in the northwestern portion of the field, which tends to produce more liquids. Montague County was the busiest with six rigs, followed by neighboring Jack County with four and Tarrant County, which produces largely dry gas, also with four.

March 14, 2014

Active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale fell by five to 23, just off their 12-year low of 22 two weeks earlier, according to RigData. Jack and Montague counties were the busiest with five rigs each, followed by Tarrant with four and Cooke and Wise counties with three each.

Nationally, the rig count rose by 17 to 1,809, said Baker Hughes. Rigs seeking crude oil were up 18 to 1,461, rigs seeking natural gas were down one to 344 and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at four. A year ago the count stood at 1,776.

February 28, 2014

Active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale fell to the lowest since at least 2002 this week, dropping to 22, down four from a week ago, said RigData. Notable among producers was Devon Energy, the field's largest producer, running just two rigs, and notable among counties was Denton, with just one active rig. Last year Devon drilled 172 new wells in the Barnett, down 47 percent from 2012, and the Oklahoma City-based producer said Feb. 19 that it intended to cut spending in the Barnett by about 40 percent in 2014. That left EOG Resources as the busiest driller in the big North Texas natural gas field with three rigs. Jack County, which has more oil and natural gas liquids than elsewhere in the play, was the busiest county with seven rigs, followed by Montague with five, Tarrant with four and Wise with three.

Nationally, the rig count was down two to 1,769, said oilfield services contractor Baker Hughes. There were 1,430 rigs seeking crude oil, up five, 335 rigs seeking natural gas, down seven, and four miscellaneous, unchanged. A year ago there were 1,757 active rigs.

Editor's note: The Star-Telegram lacks Barnett Shale rig count records prior to January 2002. We'd welcome that information if anyone has it available.

February 07, 2014

Active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale skidded by nine to 24, the lowest since the first week in January when the count hit 23, the least in more than a decade, according to RigData. Montague County was the busiest with six rigs, followed by Jack County with five and Wise County with four.

Nationally the rig count fell by 14 this week to 1,771, said Baker Hughes of Houston. There were 1,416 rigs seeking crude oil, down six, 351 seeking natural gas, down seven, and four miscellaneous, down one. A year ago the count was 1,759 rigs.

January 24, 2014

Active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale fell by one to 27 this week, according to RigData. Montague County was the busiest, with six rigs, followed by Wise County with five, Jack County with four, and Tarrant, Denton and Palo Pinto counties with three each. Nationally, the rig count was unchanged this week at 1,777, according to Baker Hughes. There were 1,416 rigs exploring for oil, up eight; 356 seeking natural gas, down nine; and five miscellaneous, up one. A year ago, 1,753 rigs were active.

December 20, 2013

Active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale slipped by one, to 27, after taking a big drop of seven rigs the previous week, according to RigData. Montague and Denton counties, which tend to produce more crude oil and liquids than elsewhere in the field, were the busiest with six rigs each, followed by Jack and Wise counties with four each.

Nationally the rig count fell by 14 this week to 1,768, said Baker Hughes. There were 1,395 rigs, down 16, exploring for oil, while 372 rigs, up three, were looking for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous, down one. A year ago there were 1,774 active rigs.